The Best Of Brotherhood
by BlueMoonHuntress-Br
Summary: The adventures and twists of the lives of the brothers Ace and Luffy and their sister, Taryn, since their childhood till each of their lives as pirates. Breaking the seas searching for their dreams and facing unbelievable danger and meeting interesting people. Who knows what might happen with these brothers...
1. The Arrival Of Their Sister

It was almost night when the three brothers Ace, Sabo and Luffy were heading back to the bandit's house ate the top of Mt. Colbo. All three of them were tired after a though training day at the woods and at the moment all that they wanted was to enjoy the feast they were having today: Bear Meat and Luffy was the most excited one.

They were just halfway from home when a sudden wind blew ferociously, taking Luffy's straw hat flying away.

"WAAHHHH! MY HAAAT!" Shouted the little one while running after his precious hat, leaving his two elder brothers behind.

"Wait there, Luffy! Get back here, you moron!" Said Ace with an irritated look on his face. That boy could be extremely annoying when he wanted. And, unfortunately, for Ace, it was almost all the time.

"You go on ahead, Ace." Said Sabo in a calm tone. "I'll go after him." Luckily, for Luffy, Sabo was the most patient towards him, even if in the beginning, when they met, the blonde boy also wasn't so nice with him.

"Be careful, Sabo." Said Ace. "Judging by this wind there's a storm coming. Try to make sure that idiot won't kill himself."

"Got it." And with that, Sabo began his run after his stupid kid brother.

Luffy kept running desperately after his treasure hat. He wouldn't forgive himself if he lose it. That hat was the promise he made with "RedHaired" Shanks, Leader of the pirate crew he admired the most and one of his main goals at his future journey at the seas, looking for One Piece.

When Luffy finally reached for his hat he noticed he at the shore of a beach of the mountain and just then he realized how far he had gotten of his brothers.

The boy was just about to return where he parted from Sabo and Ace when he noticed a strange boat approaching at the beach, there was no flag at it and the sail had several thorns all over it. Luffy stood where he was wanting to find what who or what was into that boat. It was already dark and the rain was starting to fall at the place, but the boy, somehow seemed fascinated or hypnotized by his own curiosity. He didn't even noticed when Sabo arrived screaming his name.

"My Goodness, Luffy! I was looking for you for ages! I bet Ace and the bandits are already eating the bear we got! Why you have to be so dumb? Hey! Are you even listening to me?!" Asked Sabo, already sounding a bit frustrated.

"Look Sabo! Over there!" Shouted Luffy, pointing towards the boat he has been observing until now. It didn't take long to Sabo see the boat too, but this time it was already in land and from inside it, a strange man hopped out with a large bag hanging on his back and a bunch of blankets nested in his arms. It was an old man, maybe around Garp's age. He had a thin face with a weird goatee hanging on his chin that made look like a real goat. Yeah, this would sound funny even more for the boys if it wasn't for the fact that the man was covered in blood and he looked like a maniac or had some kind of disease. The main thing was Sabo didn't enjoy the looks of him, while Luffy seemed to be in some kind of trance, looking at the guy as if he analyzing him. And this was the weirdest thing of all for the elder boy.

"Kiiiiids..." said the man in a painful moan. He certainly looked bad, but judging by the number of tricksters the boys met during their short lives, they'd never be sure about.

The old man started to limp towards the boys. Sabo, instantly positioned himself in front of Luffy to protect him from this stranger, with his pipe in hands, ready for a possible battle. But instead of it, the man moaned again:

"Kids...h-h-heeeellllp!"

* * *

"Boy, where are those two?" Ace was beginning to worry about Sabo and Luffy. Why were they taking so long. And the storm out there was getting worse. He couldn't wait anymore. Ace got on his feet, grabbed his pipe and headed to the door. He was going to look for Luffy and Sabo.

"Hold on there, Ace! Where do you thing ya goin', brat?" Said Dadan in her usual angry tone towards Ace.

"Shut up, ya old hag! It's none of your business!"

"Ya little piece of shit!" Cursed the woman while watching Ace opening the door when suddenly, all of them heard a familiar voice, shouting for help. It was Sabo.

"Shit! Something happened to Luffy. That freakin' idiot!" Thought Ace. But when both of boy got into the house, Ace got surprised to see that both of his brothers were fine. Wet...but fine. The only differences were that Luffy was carrying some kind of bad that appeared to be to heavy for him and Sabo was carrying someone on his back...it wasn't a man...it wasn't even an adult. It was a kid like them. A girl...a pretty little girl. Ace wondered how old she was. She had pitch black hair like his and Luffy's and her face was covered by a deep flush on her cheeks. She was breathing hard and trembling under the blankets wrapped around her.

"She needs help. She has a fever! Hurry up and help her!" Said Sabo in a desperate tone. Ace was very shocked at this whole situation. Who the hell was this girl? Did Sabo know her? And what was in that bag Luffy was carrying. Ace couldn't help but wonder...

"What the hell, Sabo? Who is she? What did you two do?" Asked Dadan who seemed as shocked as the freckled boy.

"It's a long story! C'mon, help me here, she's bad! If we don't do something she'll die!"

All of people inside that house stared at him speechless...but they attended to his request.

* * *

**_Next Morning:_**

"...So, this is what happened?" Asked Dadan, taking a brief look at the girl sleeping not to far from her and the boys. Luffy and Sabo nodded at her question.

"This sounds to much crazy to me." Said Ace, also staring at the little girl with a suspicious look.

"It's the truth!" Shouted Luffy. "The Goatee-ossan left her on the beach with us so we took her here as soon as we found out she was sick!"

"He asked us to take care of her." Said Sabo. "That man was her grandpa, and he begged us to take care of her..."

**_Flashback_**:

_It was raining hard back at the beach. Luffy and Sabo couldn't help but stare at the weird old man begging for their help._

_"Please...kids. Help...help her..." he said passing the bundle of sheets to Sabo, who soon felt something soft and warm moving underneath it. It was heavier than he thought. When he had a better look, he saw the face of the girl who seemed very bad herself._

_"You seem to be strong, boy. Please...find her some treatment...she really needs it. She's my granddaughter. I won't let her die." As he said that, he reached for the bag and threw it to Luffy, who almost fell at it'd weight._

_"Whoa! What's in this, Goatee-ossan?" Asked Luffy loudly as he reached to open the bag. But he was stopped by a sudden punch on his head._

_"DON'T LOOK AT IT! STUPID BRAT!" Said the man in anger. Then he suddenly began to cough hard and without any warnings, he started to throw up...blood._

_"Wah! Hey, ossan! Are you alright?! We gotta find you some help too!" Said Sabo, who felt scared at the sight._

_"No! No need, kid!" Shouted the man. "And old wolf knows when his time comes...That's me. The important here is my granddaughter! Find her some treatment and take good care of her for me. Tell her that I'm sorry... I couldn't fulfill my promise... She's the one who deserves to live and be happy. Don't let anything bad happen to her. Got that? She's all the treasure I have left. So take care of her, boys." He stopped his speech...and coughed again. More blood came out of his mouth, tainting his face with red. He then started to walk away towards the boat. He pushed it at the sea and then hopped in._

_"Wait! Where are you going? Wait, ossan! What do we have to do?" Shouted Sabo at the man who began to gain distance as he advanced towards the sea._

_"Do what I told you! Save he life! My time in this world is up! Now it's her life that must go on! Take care of her! Farewell, boys!" With that, a giant wave formed behind the tiny boat, swallowing it whole. There was no sign of the old man after that. He just left the boys there, speechless, with his dying granddaughter at their care._

**_End of Flashback:_**

Everyone became silent inside the room. Some of the bandits that heard the story were with there mouths hanging in shock, some others were crying at the commotion of the story and the rest stood motionless...until they heard a sound: a tiny moan coming from the girl they just saved. She had wake up.

When she got up from the sleeping bag she was resting. The girl rubbed her eyes, soon noticed she was in a strange place with strange people. It passed a few seconds and she kept staring at them with her grey eyes in a blank stare. Not saying a word...until...

"W-what's happening? Where am I? Who are you?" Asked the girls looking towards Dadan and the boys.

"We should be the ones asking you that!" Ace said in an aggressive tone, which made the girl retreat a short distance from them until she felt a sudden pain coming from her tummy.

"You shouldn't move, kid. You've got hurt really bad in some kind of boat wreck and now we're taking care of you." Said Dadan with a surprisingly sensitive voice, which must have came from the way the girl was looking at them with those scared big eyes.

"Sorry for this. We should've introduced ourselves sooner. I'm Sabo, and the grumpy guy over there is Ace. And this is Dadan."

"And I am Monkey D. Luffy! I'm gonna to become the Pirate King! What's your name?" Luffy shouted out loud as he bounced closer to her, with a big smile.

The girl at first seemed to be shy, but as soon as she saw that they were good people, she started to relax, and then she said:

"I'm Taryn. Nyx Taryn."


	2. Disagreements

It's been a week since Taryn arrived and, believe it or not, she was beginning to be as much as a headache as Luffy, Ace and Sabo to Dadan. Not like she was a devil-child. Taryn wasn't like this. The problem was that the little girl isolated herself after she found out the truth about her grandfather. At first, it seemed that she was about to cry desperately like any other child would do in a situation like this, but then the girl suddenly got on her feet with some difficulty, got the bag her grandfather left with her and ran away from the bandits' home.

It took a whole day until they saw her again at night. She just got inside at dinner time, limping. She had hurt her ankle somewhere. After Taryn got first-aided she went to sleep without eating anything. It has been like this the whole week. Everyday in the morning, Taryn wakes up and goes out and only comes back by nightfall to sleep. Without eating anything. Without saying a word.

"Alright, Ace! Now I got you this time!" Luffy shouted at the elder boy, preparing to use his technique.

"Gomu-Gomu No...PISTOL!" Luffy threw a punch in Ace's direction, but his fist had just met the ground before his stretched arm came back and hit his face like an elastic. Ace just laughed at the younger boy's pathetic act, and then knocked him out with one punch.

"That's today's Ace's 37th victory. 35 victories to me and no victory to Luffy...as usual." Said Sabo writing down their score. Although the three boys were just having their very normal daily training session, Ace had noticed something different in his brothers today. They seemed...slower. Even Luffy, who was just bad in battle, seemed to be even worse.

"Hey, what's the problem with you, guys? You two look weird." The two boys suddenly looked at Ace with a surprised look.

"_Damn it! He noticed..._" They thought.

"Why do you two seem surprised? What happened?" Ace asked again, sounding more irritated this time.

"Um...it is...it is nothing..." Said Luffy looking away from Ace with a guilty face, showing how such a bad liar he was.

"Don't lie to me!" Shouted Ace, hitting Luffy on his head.

"It's OK, Luffy. There's no need to lie." Said Sabo, defeated. "The truth is that we're worried about Taryn."

"What? Again with this, Sabo? I told ya! Let her be! If that little flea wants to run alone in the jungle and starve herself to death then so be it! I'm not givin' shit!"

The three boys had already discussed this topic on the second time Taryn ran away alone. She had already given them so much work at the first that Ace soon got the dislikes of her. In other hand, Luffy and Sabo got worried with the little girl. She had just been through a traumatizing experience and lost her granddad, she was small for her age and quite helpless. She was an year younger than Luffy and was running alone in a dangerous place that she didn't know. Needless to say how they got surprised when she found her way back at home in the same day, reminding when Luffy took a whole week to come back after Ace knocked him off the bridge.

Sabo suddenly felt tense in his place. He couldn't understand how Ace could act like this towards the girl.

"I didn't know you were this cold, Ace. Shame on you!" he said gritting his teeth.

"What do you mean,_ shame on me_? You're the one who wants to babysit some strange girl that you found on the beach!"

"She was given to me! She's our responsibility now!"

"You mean _your_ responsibility! I didn't agree with anything!"

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?!"

"Why do you have to be so freakin' soft? What is she for you?"

"What she could be to us? Don't you see that she's alone and needs a home? We have to take care of her! All of us! we're brothers and that's what we do!"

"What we do? Ha! Well, I've got some news, bro. I don't wanna raise that twerp!"

"Why you..."

Luffy kept quiet right where he was, watching the two boys argue felling his heart tighten. He was worried about Taryn too, but he was also worried about Ace and Sabo who couldn't get into an agreement. It was at that moment that Luffy heard a noise from behind the bushes around him. The little one got his pipe and ran into the forest with a smile, thinking that this rustling sound could be an animal that soon would turn into their meal, and leaving his brothers behind arguing. The good thing was that Luffy was now away from the tense climate between Sabo and Ace.

When Luffy finally found who was sneaking behind the bushes, he really got surprised when he saw Taryn standing just a few meters away from him, with a slingshot in her hand targeting to the top of a tree. After a few VERY quiet seconds, the girl shot what iseemed to be a sharp rock from the slingshot into the tree and from there, a huge bird dropped dead right in front of her feet. It was a huge eagle. Luffy's eyes shone in astonishment. After all, that eagle seemed really tasty.

"C-c-c-COOL!" Luffy screamed out loud which startled the girl and she looked in his direction at first she seemed scared but then she recognized the boy and calmed down a bit but she still was unconfortable towards Luffy's exaggerated smile.

"That was so awesome! That eagle was so high that I couldn't even see it! Where did you learn too shoot like that? Why do you never talk to anyone? We're worried about you, ya know? Hey wait! Where a you goin'?!" Luffy ran fast after the girl who had walked away from him. She didn't want to talk to him. She didn't want to talk to anyone. She didn't need their pity or sympathy, all that Taryn wanted was to be alone.

"Hey! Taryn! Wait! Why do you run away? You don't need to do that! We're here to help!"

"Go away! I don't need your help!" It was when Taryn suddenly tripped and fell on her face. There was a huge scratch on her forehead when she got up.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Luffy asked. Now he was just in front of Taryn blocking her way, which seemed to piss her off. But Taryn wasn't in the mood to fight...not this time.

"Why do you guys want to help me so badly? Don't you see I'm fine? I don't need help from strangers, neither pity or sympathy! I'm alright without your help. Why can't you guys just...just leave me alone?" Taryn asked feeling a tight grip on her heart. She didn't want to show this to anyone, but she was hurt and, in fact, she needed help. But she gotta be strong and face all these sad facts on her own..

"If you don't need help then, why are you crying?" It was just then that Taryn noticed her tears falling down on her face. And just for that she began to feel weak and useless, right in front of one of the people she wanted no contact.

She felt defeated an disappointed with herself. She sat down on the ground and left the tears run.

"Hey now. There's no need for this. Look at you! You're just a tiny girl an year younger than me but you already seem pretty strong yourself! I guess Goatee-ossan wouldn't like to see you crying like this!"

Taryn felt the shock run down her body by Luffy's words. He was right after all. Her grandpa wouldn't like to see her like this. He would be scolding her right now for meaningless tears if he saw her like this.

After a few minutes like this, sitting on the ground with Luffy right beside her. Taryn somehow, felt like part of her heart was recovered. Surely there was something about this straw hat kid that made her feel better. Like she was learning how to be happy again. Taryn cleared her tears off her face and then stood up quickly. Luffy did just the same. She looked at him, now with a kind smile on her face. The same smile she gave to him when he cheerfully introduced himself for her. It was kind of relieving for Luffy to see the brightness back in to her brown eyes...

"_Huh? Wait...a...sec..._" Thought Luffy while getting closer and closer to Taryn staring deeply into her eyes. "_Brown eyes?_"

"B-b-b-but...weren't they grey?"

"Whadda?!" Asked Taryn, plainly confused about the boy's statement.

"Your eyes! They're brown!"

"Well of course they are! They've always been brown!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!

"Ya sure?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Who knows...maybe you're just stupid..."

"YOU'RE THE STUPID HERE YA MORON!"

The two kids suddenly began to laugh at the situation. It was impressive how easy they became friends. For the first time in days, Taryn finally had sure that she now everything she needed to be completely happy again and, maybe, being part of a family once more...

* * *

Luffy and Taryn spent hours enjoying each other's company. They were chatting, joking, laughing and even fighting some rounds. It was hard for Luffy but he had to admit that for a shorty girl, Taryn was actually pretty good in hand in hand combat. Taryn asked Luffy a few questions about his akuma-no-mi powers, and the told her the whole story about Shanks and his promise to become a great pirate and then to become the Pirate King. Taryn couldn't help but stare at Luffy astonished with his determination and will power. When the sun was starting to set into the horizon, the kids made um a fire and enjoyed a good and tasty grilled eagle together with the eggs Luffy caught from the same tree where Taryn had killed the bird. They both eat until they were fully loaded. It was good the sensation they felt at the moment.

"Hey Taryn." Luffy called

"Yes..."

"Why don't t you tell me more about where you came from? About your family. What happened to them? Or it was just you and the Goatee-ossan like I used to have only Gramps for a while?" There was no answer from Taryn for a good time.

"Um...maybe later, Luffy." She said in a low voice. "I know you must be curious but I can't tell it right now. It's just...complicated." Luffy felt kinda guilty when he noticed the lonely tear running down through Taryn's face, while she began to embrace her knees against her chest.

"_Taryn..._"

But the moment was soon broken when a loud roar came out of the woods, and just like that, the huge mountain tiger came out of the darkness staring at them as it's next prey. The two of them stood still, paralyzed by their fear. Just when the creature got one step forward, Taryn, instinctively got her slingshot and shoot a sharp rock into one of the beast's eyes. Big mistake.

* * *

There was no time to lose! They had to get there fast! A huge roar like that was the sign that Luffy was in trouble. That little idiot was always scaring the heck out of them even when, just moments ago, they were in the middle of a fight.

"_I hope you're alright, Luffy!_" Said Sabo in his mind.

"Don't get yourself killed you idiot."Said Ace.

* * *

_**Here you go people! I hope you're enjoying the story! Please, tell me what do you think about it and what do you think I have to change in my writing. I want to make you anxious about what will happen with Luffy an Taryn in the next chapter and why in the world Ace doesn't like her very much...**_

_** Well Well...see you again in chapter 3! Yay!**_


	3. Bond That Never Die! Our New Family!

This was the end. It sure was. Taryn couldn't believe that she would die just when she finally found a friend, after all things she has been through. The girl could feel her lungs getting heavier by the lack of air in her body. The way she was running wasn't allowing her to breathe. The worst thing that was happening to her right now wasn't the fact that she was about to be killed but that she was taking Luffy with her. Poor boy. He didn't deserve this.

The two kids were trapped between the tiger and a huge mountain behind them. There was no escape. Tears started to run from both Luffy and Taryn's eyes. They were so scared.

"_And this is all my fault. I'm sorry, Luffy!_" Said Taryn in her mind. The tiger was slowly getting closer to the children. One of his eyes was bleeding from the rock that Taryn shot. He was preparing himself to swing his claws and take the life of his two little preys.

Taryn felt a sudden warmth in her hand. When she looked down, she found Luffy's hand on hers. It was just then she noticed she was shaking frantically because of her fear and Luffy was trying to calm her down, even if it was for the last time.

The beast was about to attack. The kids closed their eyes just waiting from the impact. When suddenly...

"STOP IT!" It was heard to voices screaming in anger. And Taryn could feel a brief retreat from the tiger. The animal was punched in his head by Ace and Sabo's pipes. Taryn watched speechless the elder boys' act of bravery. For some reason she never felt so relieved and motivated in her life.

"Luffy! Taryn! Run away! We'll meet you guys later!" Said Sabo while Ace was handling the tiger by himself. The blonde boy ran in the direction of the tiger as Luffy started to pull Taryn by her hand running away from the danger. This was when the little girl set free from Luffy's grip and began to run back to the tiger's direction. The last thing she heard was Luffy's desperate screams, begging her to come back to him, while the two elder boys tried to scold her for to listening to them...Ace specially.

Even though she wasn't in the mood of dying. Taryn thought that she was doing this for Luffy and his two brothers. She envied these boys because of the closeness they had ( Yeah. She had been spying on them during this whole week while walking around the forest for some recon).

The time seemed to stop around her. Her target was one of the tiger's paws. The front ones seemed to be the best shot. And, without hesitate, Taryn put her hands inside her bag and from inside of it, she took a bright shinny dagger. The last thing she remember was stabbing the tiger's gigantic paw.

* * *

In the next morning, Taryn woke up with a headache, she had hit her head somewhere after she stabbed the tiger's paw. The girl could feel the bandages in her head, she looked around and felt a tug of happiness when she found herself back at the bandits hideout. She was in the room she was sharing with Ace, Luffy and Sabo. The sun was shining through the window over her small frame. When she got up, she noticed the pile of clean clothes with a note from Dadan.

-_Need to learn to wash your clothes, kid. These were really filthy.__  
_

_ -Dadan._

By the time Taryn got changed and left the room, she was soon received by one of Luffy's strong hugs, which almost made her lose all of her breath.

"What were you thinking yesterday, Taryn? You could have been killed!" Luffy said loudly as always, with tears threatening to run down his face.

"Calm down, Luffy! There's no need to cry! See? I'm fine!"

"You mean for now!" Said Sabo walking in her direction. Taryn suspected a little when she saw the serious expression in the blonde's face. "You shouldn't have acted like that. It was really stupid from you. We were actually lucky because the tiger lost his balance for a while. If it wasn't for Ace you'd probably be dead now."

"Wait! Ace?" Taryn was shocked to hear that.

"Yeah. Ace." Sabo nodded and then his expression became more serious...more cold. "By the way, there's something we want to talk to you, Taryn...and it's kinda important." He said showing the roll of the morning paper in his hand. What in the world that was supposed to mean? Sabo had just read the question look at Taryn's face before he showed her the main article at the paper. As she saw, her skin became pale, her eyes got wider and tears began to escape from them.

They knew.

* * *

The morning passed through quiet quickly for Ace. He was still shocked with what he found out just moments ago. Those words he read at the paper just wouldn't get out of his head:

** West Blue Villagers Still Mourn About Black Market Traders' Deaths**

_After a month after the mysterious tragedy, citizens of Mabon Island, in West Blue, still cry out over family's passing. But what it was supposed to be an unpredictable catastrophe, it turned out to be an act of murder of an unknown group who set the family's house on fire._

_According to the latest investigations made by the __government, the members of the family were actually involved with illegal deals with pirates inside the Black Market. The criminal pack was led by the family's elder that, surprisingly, turned out to be Nimbus "Hell Blade"Razor, ex-assassin and bounty hunter who the rest of the world believed that was already dead, and who'd gotten into the traffic business after being allied with Gold Roger and Whitebeard at the fight against Urano Noctus. His accomplice was his own son, Nyx Aron. Together, they induced Aron's wife, Nyx Hana, and his sister-in-law, Rayne D. Rose into the "Black Businesses"._

_Although, even with all the proves and facts, people at Mabon Island still refuse to believe at the story. Most of them claim that "Teeago-san", as they put it, would never get involved in such repulsive business, even his son, Aron, or the rest of the family. While, in other hand, there're people who claim that they all deserved to die due to their sins and that this mysterious organization it is a group of well-doers that wished to make justice by their own hands. Some of these same people say that Aron was intended to train his daughter, Nyx Taryn (6), and niece, Rayne D. Merida (11), to assume their business in the future, which caused even more conflicts into the island._

_Recently, people had organized a ceremony in order to honor Nyx family's deaths at the local graveyard where the bodies of Aron, Hana and Rose are buried right now. After the tragedy of fire, the villagers have found the women's torn bodies outside of the house and Aron's carbonized body in the middle of the house ashes. Razor's body was never found, and experts believe that the children's corpses had evaporated into the flames.  
_

It felt kinda painful to Ace as he remembered of what he saw. And he used to think that he was worthless since he was the Pirate King's son. The boy found himself confused all of a sudden. He didn't know what to make up of Taryn anymore. He didn't know if he should try to comfort her about her current situation or if he should apologize to her for being so cold. Damn! This girl was giving him even more trouble that he could imagine!

Ace suddenly hear the sound of footsteps coming from behind him. When he turned around he was facing Taryn. Her big brown eyes looked soft and sincere as if she was the one who needed to apologize to him.

Taryn then bowed down before him before saying:

"Thank you very much, Ace-san! For saving my life! If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here! Now I officially owe you, Sabo and Luffy a debt of a lifetime! Thank you!"

Ace just stood there astonished. She was certainly full of surprises. But Ace had to do the right thing which was what his conscience was telling him to do.

He walked closer to her. Close enough to extend his arm and pat the girl on the head as a sign of comfort. She had a nice and silky hair. It felt good to caress it.

"You're pretty weird, ya know that?" Ace said in a mocking tone towards the girl. "Not to mention that you're also really damn stupid...OW!" Ace shouted as he felt a kick at his side, throwing him in quite distance away from the girl. When he stood up he saw a "I'm-really-pissed-at-you" look in Taryn's eyes. Ace just couldn't help but laugh, that look was too funny!

"Stop laughing, ya big dumb!"

_'Big dumb?'_ Ace thought, still laughing _Is she serious? Oh wait! I forgot that she's six years old...But wow...what a strength!_

"I swear to God that I'll break you in a half if you don't shut up now!" She said loudly as Ace stopped laughing and stood up. He took a careful look at the girl and remembered of what she did last night. Than he had an idea.

"Who do you think you are to give me orders? You little twig! Besides, I think I already know why the tiger fell down last night. He must have got scared at your ugly face...or maybe because of your stinky breath. Seriously, did you ever heard the word toothbrush?"

"W-w-WHO YA CALLIN' STINKY, YA MANGY MORON?!"

"_Bingo!_" This was what Ace was expecting for. He wanted to provoke her till the last straw.

"Well, Stinky, I don't see anyone else around here who can knock out a tiger just by her smell." _Hehehehe! This is getting even funnier...those faces are priceless!_

"You sure want to fight, dontcha, jackass?" Taryn asked in a dark tone. And Ace knew that tone very well. She was seriously challenging him for a fight.

"So you noticed, Stinky? What are you waitin' for then? Bring it on!"

And with that, Taryn charged at Ace's direction, throwing a punch at his face.

* * *

It was past midday now and Taryn hadn't return. Luffy was worried about her, more than Sabo. Because the younger boy noticed that he was Taryn's friend after being alone for weeks except for the presence of Goatee-ossan.

Luffy felt lonely at lunchtime, because Ace wasn't with them. Now he and Sabo were heading to their training place for their daily sessions and, for their surprise, they found out that Ace was already there, sitting in front of the score board when he noticed his brothers there.

"Oh! Finally! I thought you'd never come!" Ace said. Sabo felt a bit suspicious about Ace's behavior. Those band-aids in his hands and nose and weren't there when he left in this morning. Suddenly, the blonde took a great scare when he heard Luffy's scream and then he noticed Taryn, lying over some tree's roots with bandages circling all of her tiny body.

"WHAT THE HELL ACE?" Sabo shouted in anger at Ace, before he and Luffy both got their heads punched by the freckled boy.

"Shut the hell up! She's sleeping you jerks!" Ace scolded them.

"Ace! Why is she all patched up? What did you two do?"

"She challenge me for a fight back at the cliff. As you can see, I won, but she has quite a strength herself. Actually...she's really good."

Both of the boys couldn't believe in what they were hearing. Of course Luffy had told Ace and Sabo about the whole eagle episode and about her lonely training into the forest during this whole week. Sabo got rather impressed as Ace just said that Luffy thought she was good because he was too weak.

"What? Will you come training or not?" As Ace tried to gesture to their train field Luffy saw that his arm was absolutely motionless. When the little boy saw that he automatically remember when the tiger got paralyzed when Taryn stabbed his paw.

"Did Taryn do _this_ to you, Ace?" He asked. Ace nodded affirming his theory.

"Are you kidding Luffy? She told us about this just before she left!" Sabo said, not believing at how low minded his little brother really was, as he remembered Taryn's last words before she got out to search for Ace.

"_Oh! __By the way, last night when we were fighting the tiger, we didn't fell down because of luck. His muscles just stopped functioning as I hit his nerves with my father's dagger. It was a hunting move that he taught me before...that day. It's a Nerve Attack. You can paralyze a specific part or the entire body of your victim depending of which nerve you hit, and there are different nerve spots for each specie, you can use that attack at humans in a fight though. I can teach you one day if you want!" She said that with a smile of her face before she ran out._

"She did that craziness to save us last night. We are the ones owing to her due to that." Sabo said that as Ace agreed with him. In the end the didn't have their training that day. They were to busy watching the little girl sleep. By the end of the day, Luffy and Ace got responsible for getting their dinner, while Sabo took Taryn back home. As Sabo took her in that night, he sat down beside her and watched her a little longer. He felt a smile grow in his face as he caressed the silk of Taryn's black hair.

_Heh...I always wanted to have a sister._ Sabo thought. As soon as he heard Ace and Luffy's arrival, he headed out of the room. _Dinnertime..._

* * *

**Two Months Later:**

"Ouch! Watch out guys! I just kicked a thick root! And please don't make me knock down my cap!" Taryn was beginning to feel really frustrated, her eyes were folded and she had no idea about where she was been taken. Although one of her main worries was the big black cap she was wearing on her head. That was the very same cap grandpa used to wear during the hunting to give him luck. She had inherited it together with her father's black jacket. Of course both of the clothing were to big for her but Taryn didn't mind. She was way too comfortable by having a piece of her family with her.

"Okay, we're here!" Sabo said. "Just hold on a little longer!"

Taryn let out a groan of impatience. She soon hear a few strange noises that seemed like a bottle opening and spilling liquid.

"Alright! Now you can open!"

As Taryn opened her eyes, she saw the three boys gathered around an old piece of log, each of them holding a cup of sake and with a smile on their faces. As she got closer to the boys she spotted a fourth cup onto the log. She stared back at them with a serious question look.

"Guys, what's this all about?"

"It's a ceremony that the three of us made not so long ago. We all shared a drink of sake and with that we became brothers." Sabo explained to her, without dropping his smile at any moment. "And now we're doing it again with you Taryn. What do you say?"

As Taryn got the meaning of Sabo's words, she became totally speechless in a second. She stared at Luffy and Ace then. They were both smiling with a hopeful look in their eyes. They were really asking her to become their sister...Taryn couldn't believe it. She had the happy feeling of being part of a family again. She even remembered the moments she passed with the boys. At this last two months. All the three of them were shocked as she revealed to them another side of her...and that side was as mischievous and trouble maker as all of the boys together. It hadn't take this much time for the girl to prove that she deserved to be one of them!

At the moment Taryn got closer to the log and had her cup in hands, the four kids made their toast, sealing once again their bond of brotherhood.

Taryn felt her heart getting warmer. She sent a silent prayer to her dead relatives thanking them...thanking them for giving this whole new wonderful family to her.

Now she was sure. She was finally happy for being alive.

* * *

**Meanwhile: Somewhere at Grand Line**

It has been two months since that bloody paper came to his hands. He still couldn't believe of what has just happened. At first he thought that that freaking bastard was dead for years and now he discovered that he has been living in some dusty village in West Blue with his new found family...and now he was dead again.

_It is certainly impressive how these seas can be deceiving. _ Thought Whitebeard while reading the main article of the paper, literally, for the 100th time.

He heard a knock at his door. He had a certain idea of who it was before allowing his son to get in.

"What is it? Is there any problem out there, Marco?" Asked the old man to his first commander.

"No. Not exactly. The crew has been worried about you, Pops. Specially me. How long are you intended to sit there reading this paper?"

"Until I find out what is the catch behind all of this."

"Catch?"

"Yes. Don't ya think it's weird, son? That the same man that had apparently escaped from death 14 years ago, just got killed by a simple fire? There must be a reason of why he'd got so weak."

"As you said, Pops, it's been 14 years since we last saw him. Who knows what he has been doing."

Whitebeard couldn't help but let out a chuckle at his son's statement.

"Yeah, you might be right. Who knows what this little bastard has been doing to his life since that last time. But still...there's something in this that keeps me restless."

"Which is?"

"Those kids mentioned in the article. The two little girls."

"What about them?"

"What are the chances, that at least one of them has survived to the tragedy?" The old pirate asked, with a sarcastic grin hidden underneath his mustache.

_Gurarararara! Certainly, at least one of them is still around there somewhere. If you could escape from death that night, why can't them? Gurararararara!_

* * *

**Oh...my...God! FINALLY! chapter 3 is READY! Even thought you're not reviewing...I'm still posting these chapter as soon as I can. Now, seriously, please REVIEW! I'm feeling lonely here! I don't wanna die not knowing if you like my story! PLEASE**

**And btw: I'm almost over with the childhood arc. Maybe after two more chapters, the life of these four kids will move on with them as adults (or almost)...**

**But anyway, See you at chapter 4**

**REVIEWS! i NEED THEM!**


	4. A Piece Of Her Past

"NIGHTMARE KICK!" Taryn shouted as she threw a kick at the punk who was trying to attack Ace from behind. She did hit him right at his tailbone, paralyzing him from the waist down.

"Nice shoot, Taryn!" Sabo said with genuine pride of the girl.

"Thanks, Onii-san!" She answered with a smile, accidentally not seeing the guy with a knife running at her direction.

"WAH! TARYN!" Luffy approached quickly between the man and his sister, hitting that damn bastard at his head with the pipe. "STAY AWAY FROM HER, IDIOT!"

"Why, you little shit!" The man yelled as he hit Luffy right on his face, making the kid's eyes go to inside of his face because of his Gomu-gomu powers.

"You freakin' bastards! DON'T TOUCH THEM !" As Ace shouted to the man, he and Sabo kept knocking them out one by one. No one is allowed to mess with their kid brothers.

As the four kids heard a loud whistle they quickly got away from the alley. None of them was in the mood of fighting the police officers and get even more trouble. When the four of them had finally got out of Goa and crossed the Grey Terminal they started to feel their stomachs growling.

It was a real battlefield at dinnertime. Taryn was surprised when she saw the whole scene for the first time, although it didn't take long for the girl to join in. As soon as Taryn became Ace, Sabo an Luffy's little sister she soon shown them the devilish side of her which, believe, it seemed to be far worse then the three boys' together sometimes, and the dinnertime inside the bandits' house was one of those times.

_You must be fucking kidding me!_ Dadan thought observing Taryn's interaction in the battle for food. The old woman couldn't believe that a girl in Taryn's size could eat as much as her older brothers...the only difference was that she at least chewed before swallowing.

At the end of the dinner, Dadan didn't waste any time to throw the three boys into the bathroom to take a loooong bath. She got Taryn to help her with the house cleaning after dinner, since she was the one that made less mess. After the boys finished, it was Taryn's turn to take a bath. She might have been used to live with boys, but sometime she felt quite needy about having some female company. Back at Mabon Island, she had her mother her aunt and her cousin, Merida. And that was enough for her, but now the only female-like reference she had was Dadan, who sometimes reminded her of Grandpa in his moody days. She wasn't complaining about it tough.

In the next morning, all of the four kids were graced with a surprise visit.

"Makino!" Luffy said, cheerfully, running to greet the young woman approaching the house. She smiled lovingly at the boy, greeting him with a hug. By the look at Luffy's face, Taryn saw how important that woman should be to her brother...she kinda make her remember the way aunt Rose looked at her and Merida. Taryn felt a smile crept into her face.

The girl suddenly felt a tug at her arm. And then she noticed that she was now face to face with Makino.

"Makino! This is Taryn! She's my sister!" Luffy said happily, he also giggled when he noticed Taryn blushing at Makino's gentle smile towards her.

"Well then, nice to meet you, Taryn!" She said patting her head. Taryn blushed even more, making Makino giggle at the cute face she was making.

Makino soon showed Luffy the new clothes she brought to him, she asked for Ace and Sabo to help her adjust the length. Taryn sure will never let Ace forget the way he blushed when Makino was adjusting the clothes for him...actually, Taryn finally understood why Ace liked to ease her so much. He said that her faces were so funny that he regretted not taking pictures of them, and this was the way the girl was feeling now.

By the nighttime, while everybody was enjoying the feast that Makino had made, the kids received another surprise, but this time it wasn't that pleasant.

* * *

It wasn't difficult to Taryn to find her brothers. All she had to do was follow the trail of fallen trees and crashed plants that Garp had left along the way while pursuing the boys and beating the crap out of them. When Taryn saw three bodies lying down looking like they were half dead, she quickly ran to aid her brothers.

Later in that night, when Taryn was already asleep, the three boys gathered around to an emergency meeting.

"We have to get out of here. If we stay the old man is gonna beat us all over again." Said Ace in a serious tone.

"I don't wanna die!" Luffy whined, almost crying.

"But what about Taryn? We can't just left her here with Dadan." Sabo said taking a brief look at his sleeping sister.

"It's better for her this way, Sabo. She's a girl. She can't handle the old man. Didn't you see her face when he showed up? She could barely speak! Good thing Luffy didn't mention anything about her wanting to become a pirate too...who knows what would be of her..."

"HUH? Taryn wants to be a pirate too?" Luffy asked surprised.

And the it was when the older boys realized that they didn't know anything about their sister. Anything about her past and her dreams. In Ace and Sabo's heads, the way that Taryn acted with them meant that she wanted the same thing as them, that she had the same dream to become free and roam the seas searching for amazing stories and adventures. Maybe she wanted that, maybe not. The single thought turned even more difficult the decision they were about to make. They already had developed such an affection toward Taryn that they didn't want to see her hurt by anything and anyone...including themselves.

It was early in the morning, the sun had barely raised in the horizon and the three boys had already run away from the bandit's home, leaving just a note behind saying "we're moving out". The boys cheered their successful escape when they were already far away from the house.

"Do you think they're gonna be fine?"Sabo asked. Ace stopped for a moment to look behind and then he grinned.

"Heh. I bet they're glad that they just got rid of their problems."

"Well, I hope so. So, what are we doing from now on?" Said a tiny little voice beside Ace.

"First of all we gonna need a new place. The rest we'll do it our way, so don't worry Taryn."

Ace's eyes popped open in realization.

_Wait. What?_ He thought.

"TARYN? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" All three boys asked in a panic/shocked tone. What the hell their little sister was doing there. Taryn answered her brothers with a murderous glare, that really did scare the shit out of them, since they never saw her with such a look.

"Did you three actually think that you could just run away leaving me behind? Then you're all dumber then I thought! How dare you run away like that? Didn't you think about how I'd feel? We're a family now! That means wherever you do and decide, you're gonna drag me with you! No arguments about that, ya hear me?" She shouted, feeling really indignant and angry with her brothers about their stupid decision. She couldn't believe that they believed about the possibility of her leaving them alone..._ Baka Onii-san!_ She thought.

* * *

It had passed almost a week since they moved out. They had already built their new hideout and they were living fine by themselves. Until it came a certain night that one of the four kids just couldn't sleep because she was too restless. As Taryn noticed that it would be impossible for her to sleep that night, she got up from her bed and went in direction of the bag that Grandpa had left for her. After a few seconds of searching, she found what she was looking for and went outside. She climbed the hideout walls to the crow nest they made, Taryn took a look at the image of Foosha village, the Grey Terminal and the Goa Kingdom asleep before driving her attention to the silver pocket watch she had in her hands.

That was the same watch her dad used to carry everywhere. He had given it to her on her 6th birthday telling her to keep and protect it at all costs, because that object represented the bond she had with him and the rest of the family.

Taryn opened the watch and inside she saw the picture that was in it. It was the last picture she had taken with everybody. She was five years old that day and Taryn still could remember it perfectly. In the picture her father was carrying her in his arms, they both wore the same smile in their faces. Her mother was right beside them with a lovingly look in her eyes, and then was grandpa, with his trademark smile that always made the kids in the island laugh at him, and at last there was aunt Rose with Merida hugging her waist, trying to hide herself from the camera since she was always too shy although her blushing face could be seen perfectly.

Taryn's mother and aunt were really alike. They had the same brown hair and eyes. Merida took her appearance from her mom while Taryn was the perfect mixture of her parents. She had her father's back hair and her mother's eyes. Lots of people used to debate which of the she looked more alike but most of them said that she was the image of her father in a skirt...just without his blue eyes.

"This is your family?" Taryn jumped in scare as she heard a voice that came suddenly from behind her. It was Sabo.

"Don't do this, nii-chan! You scared me!"

"Well, I'm sorry!" He answered with a light chuckle. "So...Am I right? Are those people your family?"

Taryn nodded and than she handed the watch to Sabo so he could take a look at the picture. He analysed it for a few minutes. The first one he recognized in the picture was Taryn's grandfather, Razor-san and then he saw Taryn smiling happily in her dad's arms who was also smiling.

"You look just like your dad, ya know?" Sabo said smiling at his sister. As the boy finished looking at the picture, he spotted Taryn's cousin in the corner of the picture, he felt his cheeks getting a bit hot.

_Boy, she's cute..._ This was what he thought before coming back to reality and giving the watch back to Taryn.

"It must have been tough for you." He said in concern.

"It was." Taryn answered in a low voice. And then, silence dominated the space between the two brothers. Sabo knew what he had to ask to her, but he was scared that it would just hurt her even more, although it wasn't like he had much choices.

"Hey Taryn." He called her, he spoke again when the girl's eyes were focused on him. "I know that this is too much painful for you but I have to know...how was your life back at West Blue...and how did this whole mess happened."

Another moment of silence. Sabo felt like jumping from the crow's nest and hit his head on the ground. But then he heard Taryn let out a long sigh before saying:

"It was a good life I had back at Mabon Island. I had my family and also had two friends. They were the ones who taught me how to shoot and also somethings about hand in hand combat. They have almost the same age as you and Ace." She gave a quick break before continuing to tell her story, she had a serene expression in her eyes and her voice sounded as calm, exposing how much she missed those people and how much she enjoyed remembering them.

"Their names are Cage and Jay. They were the first friends I had besides my cousin. Cage had moved to Mabon two years ago. His father is a master engineer specialized in weapons designs who used to work for the Marine. He was also pretty smart, when he wasn't studying in his house he was with me playing with the slingshot. And Jay was one of my first rivals back there, he also has a Marine relative who taught him about pugilism. He and some other boys used to have a crush on this girl at the village that used to bully Merida for fun. Until one day I slapped her and she ran crying for those boys who started to pursue me. After beating them up, some of them kept challenging me everyday, including Jay, obviously. One day, we were fighting in the forest near our village, and I saved him from a snake. A very big snake. After that we, somehow, became friends. He began to teach me all he had learned from his uncle because he wanted me to be his best rival in the future." she spoke about her old friends with a sad smile on her face, it almost broke Sabo's heart apart when noticed how much his sister had really lost.  
"About my family, you saw there, my parents, grandpa, aunt Rose and Merida. Mom and dad were hunters while aunt Rose and granddad were merchants that sell my parents' hunts. We had a our own business that was a great help for the people of the island since we were the ones who, technically, fed them. I used to admire my parents a lot because they were so strong and amazing. Since their work was hard they couldn't spend too much time at home, neither grandpa because he exported the hunts to the other side of the island to sell there, and my aunt spent all day at the village's market, so, when I wasn't with Cage and Jay, I used to spend most of my time with Merida. Although, I was even more happy when my parents could stay at home for a day or two. The kids in the village used to be scared of my mom. I can't blame them since she was a hot blooded woman but she loved all of us like a real mother would and she'd protect us no matter what. She was true female warrior! My dad was a calm and wise man. I learned lots of things from him. He used to sail the seas with granddad when he was young. He told that he even visited the Grand Line once! Thanks to him I gain the will to live happy besides all the bad things that might happen to me as long as I live. I couldn't had wished for a better family than them!"

At the moment Taryn finished her speech. She looked at Sabo and saw his face distorted into a expression of pain. An expression that she thought she would see in her brother's face.

"Onii-san, are you alright?" She asked worried.

"I'm sorry Taryn. I'm really sorry for everything. I'm sorry not been the family you need. And I'm sorry for you because you lost so much. If I could change things in this world, you bet that one of them wuld be you havig your family back...I'm sorry, sis. I'm really sor.."

"Stop saying bullshit!" Taryn said interrupting Sabo's sentence. "You don't have to be sorry about me! This wasn't your fault. I might be feeling bad for not having my family here now, but one of the things I earned with my dad is that what's in the past is done! None of us can change anything! And stop whining about that lie of not been the family I need! Because you are! If it wasn't for you I might be dead now! You saved me and showed me kindness...and that's what a family is for!"

Sabo was now speechless. Staring frantically at his sister's face. She was crying in frustration. Another heavy moment of silence fell onto the two kids. No one dared saying anything.

Taryn suddenly turned around to look Sabo straight in his eyes. Her tears had already gone, leaving the little girl with nothing but a determined look.

"I need to ask you something, Sabo!"

"What is it?"

"I know that your dream is to become a pirate, just like Luffy and Ace. First, I want to confess you that I want to become a pirate too! Not just because you're my older brothers, but it was my dream since I first heard the stories my dad told me about the sea. It's been my dream to sail the seas freely and be strong just like the people out there and see amazing things and meet amazing people! I do believe that the people with most freedom out there are the pirates, so I'll be one too! And when that day comes...I WANT YOU TO TAKE ME WITH YOU AS YOUR CREW MATE!"  
"Taryn..."  
"Promise me! Promise me, Onii-chan, that you will take me in your ship and then we'll sail together! PROMISE!"

After some more time of silence, Sabo finally reacted to his sister's words. He smiled happily, and then he said:  
"I promise Taryn. From now on you're already in my crew!"

The girl smiled excited, she ran to her brother and gave him a big hug. Sabo was also very happy and hugged her back. Between all of the 3 brothers, Sabo was the one who had got more close to Taryn. The blonde really wished that he had a little sister, and Taryn made this wish come true, just he make Taryn's wish to have a family again come true as well.

When the two of them were heading back to the hideout, Sabo suddenly remembered.

"Hey, Taryn. Remember that I asked for you to tell me about _that_ night? Well, forget it. You don't have to tell right now."  
He didn't feel surprised when he heard Taryn let out a relieved sigh.  
"Thanks, Sabo. I wasn't in the mood of telling that to you anyways. But I promise that one day I'll tell about what happen to the three of you."  
"Okay, then!"

As the kids were finally in their beds, ready to sleep, they heard an audible mumble coming from Ace.

"You two shouldn't be so noisy by this time...we heard every single word you two said..." He said sleeply  
"Uuuhhh...Taryn...That's not fair...you're supposed to be in my crew...not Sabo's..." Said Luffy between snores.  
"Well...at least she'll be a pirate too...that's something." Ace said.

Taryn couldn't help but giggle at this, Sabo also let out a chuckle at his brothers. He lied back in his bed and fell asleep, while Taryn was still observing the faces of her sleeping brothers she whispered:  
"Night guys. Thank you for everything." And when she was just about to sleep, she said another thing into her mind:

_I wish you were here with me right now. It would be nice if we had spend this day together. I bet you would like them. But well, anyways...Happy Birthday, Merida..._

And with that, the girl finally fell asleep with a blissful smile on her lips.

* * *

**Oh Yeah! Uh-huh! Chapter 4 is here povo! Sorry for taking so long, but it wasn't my fault! It was all because that f******, sh**** bitch that I call SCHOOL that didn't let me continue on the story!  
But well...I think I might upload the next chapter next week! We're almost over the childhood arc. But I might ask you to tell me what did you think and what do you expected in the future of this fic! So...REVIEW! Or, as a punishment, I'll ask Taryn to throw a NIGHTMARE KICK in each one of you! (#justkiddin')**

**Until next time, baby!  
(_fyi: povo=people. Since I'm brazillian I'm gonna put some words in portuguese here sometimes so don't be afraid!...KISSES!)_**


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